Setting:

Summary:

Reading and Reference Texts:

Reading copy:

“The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” — reading copy

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Historical Texts:

Manuscripts and Authorized Printings:

Text-01 — “The Facts of M. Valdemar’s Case” — 1845, no original manuscript or
fragments are known to exist (but this version is presumably recorded in Text-02) — (A comment in Poe’s unfinished notes
for The Living Writers of America suggests that at least one editor rejected the manuscript prior to it being accepted by G.
H. Colton of the American Review.)

Text-02 — “The Facts of M. Valdemar’s Case” —
December 1845 — American Review — (Mabbott text A) [Cullen B. Colton states that the manuscript was among
those “either lost or stolen.” No trace of a manuscript is known, but it was common practice for such material to be
destroyed during or after typesetting. Poe himself saw no particular importance in his manuscript once that version was set in type.
The future value of these manuscripts was, of course, not recognized at the time.]

Text-03 — “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” —
December 20, 1845 — Broadway Journal — (Mabbott text B) (Changes made in this text are so minor that
it suggests they were made in typesetting or in proof, so that no intervening form is implied.) (For Griswold’s 1850
reprinting of this text, see the entry below, under reprints.)

Text-04 — “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” —
1848 — manuscript revisions in “Whitman” copy of Broadway Journal (the one change is noted at
the end of text B.) — (Mabbott text C) (This is Mabbott’s copy-text)

Reprints:

“Valdemar’s Case” — 1845, December 20 — Baltimore Saturday Visiter (Noted
in an article by Philip P. Cooke from the SLM, January 1848, no copy of this issue was known for many years. The story
appears on the first page. Elsewhere in the same issue, J. E. Snodgrass comments on the December issue of The American
Review, and states, “That there is something more and better than mere party politics in this journal, our first page will
show. Its literary contents are of a high standard.” The date, and the editorial comment are given in The Poe Log,
1987, pp. 605-606.)

“The Facts of M. Valdemar’s Case” — about December 16, 1845 — unspecified Boston
periodicals (Robert Collyer wrote to Poe on December 16, 1846, noting “Your account of M. Valdemar’s case has been
universally copied in this city” (letter printed in the Broadway Journal, December 27, 1845). The specific reprints
referred to by Mr. Collyer have not been identified, but may include the following three items.)

“Mesmerism in America. Astounding and Horrifying Narrative” — January 9, 1846 — Cork
Examiner (Republic of Ireland) (It is noted as “from the American Magazine, a work of some standing in America.”)

“Mesmerism in America. Death of M. Valdemar of New York” — January 10, 1846 — The
Popular Record of Modern Science (London)

“Mesmerism; In Articulo Mortis” (1846 [[H&C note “probably January or February”]].
The full title page states, all in capitals except for the price, “Mesmerism [[/]] ‘In Articulo Mortis’ [[/]] An
[[/]] Astounding & Horrifying Narrative, [[/]] Shewing the Extraordiary Power of Mesmerism [[/]] in Arresting the [[/]] Progress
of Death. [[/]] By Edgar A. Poe, Esq. [[/]] of New York. [[/]] London: [[/]] Short & Co., 8, King Street, Bloomsbury, [[/]]
1846. [[/]] Price Threepence]”) (printed as a separate edition)

“Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” — February 11, 1846 — the Cadiz Sentinel
(Cadiz, OH) (“A HORRIBLE PIECE! A STRANGE STORY OF MESMERISM. [[/]] [The following singular narrative, from the pen of Edgar
A. Poe, appeared originally in the N.Y. Whig Review, and more recently in the Broadway Journal, of which Mr. Poe is editor, prefaced
by the annexed paragraph.]” Poe’s Broadway Journal had actually ceased publication at the beginning of January
1846, but that news had apparently not yet spread to Ohio.)

“Mesmerism in America. Astounding and Horrifying Narrative” — August 19, 1846 — South
Australian Register (Adelaide S. Australia), vol. X, whole no. 636, (begins on p. 1, col. 4, continuing on p. 2, cols. 1-2.)
(This reprint is acknowledged as “by Edgar A. Poe,” and with the prefatory comment: “We copy the following
astounding narrative from the American Magazine, a work of some standing in America, where it has caused considerable
excitement. We place it before our readers without comment, merely premising that credence is given to the story in America.”)

“Startling effects of Mesmerism on a Dying Man” — 1852 — Tales of Mystery and
Imagination and Humour; and Poems, London: Henry Vizetelly; an undated edition appears about the same time, published by
Charles H. Clark (pp. 47-57) (This version continues the curious British tendency to change the title of this tale.)

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar — 2012 — Biting Dog Press (This elaborately presented letterpress edition
has a beautiful cover and matching box. The book is illustrated with wood engravings by George A. Walker. The 32 pp. book was
printed in a limited run of 60 numbered copies.)

“Edgar Allan Poe’s Valdemar” — March 14, 2000 — a radio show broadcast on NPR
Playhouse, as part of the Radio Tales series. (As was often the case with dramatic presentations of Poe’s works,
the story has been modified.) The show was produced by Winnie Waldron and Winifred Phillips. It debuted on XM Satellite Radio on
November 1, 2003.

“The Mesmerist”— 2001 — a film featuring Howard Hessman and Neil Patrick Harris,
directed by Gil Cates, Jr. (released on DVD in 2003 by Roxbury films.) This broadly comic farce is a recasting of Poe’s tale,
so much so that little remains (and there are a few slight touches from “The Fall of the House of Usher” and
“Morella”). As an adaptation, the original is scarecly recognizable, and thus it can hardly serve Poe’s plot,
character, tone or idea. The quirky attempts at humor are generally so overwrought that it only rarely succeeeds even on its own
terms.

“The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” — 2009 — Audio book (unabridged), read by Chris Aruffo (part of a 4-CD set)

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Bibliography:

Anderson, Carl L., Poe in Northlight: The Scandanavian Response to His Life and Work, Durham, NC: Duke
Unversity Press, 1973.